The 6-Hour CEO

01/08/2026

It’s not about who’s on your team.

It’s about how your team works together.

Google studied 180 teams across engineering and sales. They wanted to know what separates high-performing teams from the rest.

They found five key things that made the difference:

• Psychological safety: Can you take risks without fear?
• Dependability: Do teammates deliver on what they say?
• Structure & clarity: Does everyone know what to do and why?
• Meaning: Does the work feel important to each person?
• Impact; Does the team know the value of their work?

Guess what didn’t matter?

• Whether people worked in the same office
• Who was the most experienced
• How big the team was
• Who made the decisions

In other words, it’s not the résumé. It’s the chemistry.

Want better results?

Start by building trust. Be the person who follows through. Ask clear questions. Explain the “why.” And never punish people for mistakes or new ideas.

A strong team culture affects everything:
Retention.
Innovation.
Output.
Confidence.

How safe does your team feel?

01/05/2026

Most people stay quiet when they should speak up.

Why?

Because they don’t want to look dumb.
Or appear negative.
Or like they’re rocking the boat.

But staying silent kills great ideas before they start.

- The nurse didn’t call the doctor.
- The co-pilot didn’t question the pilot.
- The executive didn’t share her doubts.

All three saw the problem.
None of them spoke up.

Not because they didn’t care.
Because they didn’t feel safe enough to say something.

Psychological safety isn’t soft.
It’s the reason teams succeed.

Google’s research in Project Aristotle found five things that made teams effective:

1. Psychological safety
2. Dependability
3. Structure & clarity
4. Meaning
5. Impact

But #1 mattered the most.

Without it, people don’t ask questions.
They don’t share fresh ideas.
They don’t tell the truth.

If your team isn’t hearing (and sharing) hard things,
You don’t have trust.
You have fear.

Ask yourself:
- Do people feel okay making mistakes here?
- Do they feel heard when they disagree?
- Do they contribute, or do they conform?

The answers need to be yes, and contribute.
This is key to building a high-performing team.

12/30/2025

Why are you rewarding mediocrity?

It may sounds harsh,
But if you keep tolerating low standards from your team,
You'll get low performance to those standards.

You're the one setting the bar.

There was a Monday morning, that I didn’t want to go to work.
I wasn't feeling it.
But it was my company! Literally. I was the founder and CEO.

The team wasn’t motivated.
The top performers were frustrated.

The low performers? Coasting.

He finally said the hard thing out loud:
“I’ve built a culture I don’t enjoy.”

So we faced the ugly truths and made a plan.

- Performance mattered again.
- Attitudes had to align with the company’s values.
- Coaching was offered. Accountability followed.
- 7 low performers left.
- The rest stepped up.

A year later?

The culture was alive.
The leadership team woke up excited again.

Want to fix your company?

Start by fixing what you tolerate.

12/23/2025

Biggest PT group in the country? 7% profit margin.

Let that sink in.

Select Medical runs over 1,900 clinics. They're trying to go private. Why?

Because public markets reward growth. Not sustainability.

Their margins are razor-thin. They're closing more clinics than they open. And they’re still struggling to hire.

Here’s what that means for you:

- You don’t need 1,000+ clinics to win.
- You need strong leadership and happy clinicians.
- You need a system that builds value, not chaos.
- You need clear goals, not wishful thinking.

Recruiting will matter more than marketing.

Culture will matter more than convenience.

Building something that works without you is the only strategy that survives.

Ask yourself:
Does your clinic rely on your hustle?
Or does it run on process, people, and purpose?

Here's a 5-Minute PT Practice Health Check for you:
https://sturdy-0v9hjvb3.scoreapp.com/

Find out what will give you the biggest breakthrough in the next 90 days!

12/22/2025

The 5-minute assessment every PT practice owner should take

Quick question: How much of your week is spent reacting to problems instead of executing a plan?

If you're like most PT practice owners I talk to, it's more than you'd like.

I built a simple 5-minute assessment that shows you exactly where your operational blind spots are: the ones costing you sleep, margin, and confidence.

It takes 10 questions to find out:

✅ Whether you're operating with clarity or guessing month to month
✅ Which area (cash flow, capacity, decision-making, or patient flow) needs attention first
✅ What to focus on in your next 90 days to get the biggest breakthrough

You'll get your results immediately.
No sales pitch, no fluff.
Simply a clear picture of where you stand.

Take The 5-Minute PT Practice Health Check:
https://sturdy-0v9hjvb3.scoreapp.com/

If you've been wondering whether you're working on the right things, this will tell you in 5 minutes.

12/19/2025

Quick Question for Practice Owners

Which one is most true for you right now?
1) My practice is reaching its full potential
2) We're working on it.
3) It isn't, and I could really use some help.

I'd love to hear back from you on this.
DM or comment below.

12/08/2025

The Dashboard is mostly a feedback loop on how well you’re managing your players (team members) and your plays (processes). Some indicators are leading, most are lagging.

But without the Dashboard, how do you make good decisions? How do you connect the dots?

The dots: Players, Plays, and Outcomes

11/15/2025

Driving your business without a dashboard is like driving your car without a dashboard.
Even if everything is okay, how do you know?

https://sturdycoaching.com/critical-7-metrics

11/09/2025

“Career paths shouldn’t be guesswork”

If your company still waits for promotions to develop people, you're already behind.

Today’s smartest companies do 3 things:

- Build skills before roles exist
- Support internal mobility with real programs
- Treat learning like part of the job, not a perk

These teams are 42% more likely to lead in AI adoption, 25% more confident in profitability, and have higher retention.

Because talent doesn’t wait.
It grows... or it leaves.

Is your organization developing careers, or losing them?

11/08/2025

How much can I pay my new Physical Therapist?
November 13, 12:15 Pacific, 3:15 Eastern

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-much-can-i-pay-my-new-physical-therapist-tickets-1963554509395

11/07/2025

Event:
How much can I (really) pay my new Physical Therapist?

November 13, 12:15 Pacific, 3:15 Eastern

PTs are getting high pay offers from hospitals, home health, and others. We'll break down how much you can actually pay so you can compete.

11/06/2025

Your A-players are burning out…
because you let your C and D-players coast.

You know it.
They know it.
And worst of all? Your culture reflects it.

Read about the Monday I didn't want to go to work (at my own company).

https://coachsturdy.substack.com/p/the-monday-i-didnt-want-to-go-to